1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a load bearing system that includes a load bearing textile strap.
More particularly, the invention is directed to such a strap for any application in which a load is required to be spread along a contacting surface. For example, such applications include those in which an object is to come in contact with a portion of a body of a person using such object, such as climbing harnesses, backpack shoulder straps, backpack hip belts, ski pole straps, medical slings, automobile seat belts, bag carrying straps, etc.
The invention is also directed to other categories of applications, such as, for example, industrial lifting slings. Indeed, in such applications, the load-spreading feature according to the invention, further described below, can be implemented to considerable advantage with regard to the load bearing system of the invention and the object with which it comes into contact.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
In current applications that use a load-bearing strap, a cushioning pad may be provided adjacent the strap, so that the cushioning pad is interposed between the strap and the user's body in order to avoid direct contact. The cushioning pad is sometimes wider than the load-bearing strap, but usually by only small amount if at all. Moreover, the cushioning pad being basically soft, it has a significant load-spreading effect only very close to the edges of the strap. Therefore, the load is not properly spread and may result in too much contact pressure on the body, causing undesirable effects.
In order to achieve better spreading of the load, it is known to use variable width textile straps. Such straps are woven in a specific way at predefined positions along their length, most of the time by modifying the weaving parameters in a specific section of the strap. Typically, such techniques allow the width of the strap to be increased at those specific predefined locations up to double the nominal width of the strap, but not more. Such techniques increase the production cost of the strap and they show no flexibility: once the strap is woven, the location, shape, and measurements of the portions of increased width cannot be adjusted to each specific application.
Such variable width straps do achieve a load spreading effect, but they are limited by the maximum width increasing ratio. Other constraints include having to weave a specific strap for each specific application.